In a significant development for global interfaith relations, World Evangelical Alliance Secretary General Rev. Adv. Botrus Mansour met face-to-face with Yahya Cholil Staquf, Chairman of the Central Executive Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), in Singapore on 14 June 2026. NU is the world's largest Islamic organisation, representing tens of millions of Muslims predominantly in Indonesia, and its leadership has been engaged in a sustained dialogue with the WEA over several years aimed at building mutual understanding and advancing shared humanitarian objectives.
The Singapore summit was the first in-person meeting between the two leaders since Mansour assumed the Secretary General role earlier this year; they had previously met online in April. "This was our first face-to-face meeting where we were able to learn more about each other and develop trust," Mansour said following the encounter. "As religious leaders, we recognise the value of a trusting relationship in our possible future programmes." The conversation centred on expanding and deepening joint activities between the two organisations, building on the foundation established by the Humanitarian Islam/WEA Joint Working Group.
The meeting also touched on the R20 religious conference, scheduled to take place in the United States in December 2026 and co-sponsored by Chairman Staquf, which aims to bring religious leaders together around shared concerns including peacebuilding, religious freedom, and humanitarian response. Rev. Dr. Thomas K. Johnson, WEA Special Advisor who co-chairs the Joint Working Group with NU counterparts, also participated in the summit. For free evangelical churches, many of which minister in contexts where Christians are a minority living alongside Muslim neighbours — including in Indonesia, home to both NU's base and a significant Christian population — such high-level dialogue carries practical implications for local church life and intercommunal relations.
Source: World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) — worldea.org
